For the first time in 200 years,
two separate groups of bugs will emerge together.
We're talking about cicada season,
and a very rare one at that.
We're joined now by WJCL 22 News's Tia Maggio.
She's at Forsyth Park, where you can find plenty of
bugs.
Did you walk us through what this rare event means?
Now I want you to take a listen to the
sounds coming from Forsyth Park right now.
It's nice. It's quiet now.
It's not going to be like that for long.
That's because trillions of cicadas will be emerging together for
the first time.
I spoke with people on the street as well as
an expert about the buzz on the bugs.
It's gonna be a loud noise,
but get ready for it.
And you better be ready for it because for the
first time in centuries,
both the 13 year Great Southern brood and the 17
year Northern Illinois brood will emerge at the same time.
Usually they don't emerge at the same time.
It's a prime number, you know,
odd numbers. So really the last time this happened,
I think was over 200 years ago.
It's pretty amazing, but Luis Santos isn't having it.
Cicadas take over everything. They are loud.
Love them but dangerous? Ish.
But Georgia Southern professor and insect expert Jennifer Zettler says
cicadas can actually be helpful.
You'll have things like birds,
lizards. You'll have all different types of animals and including
in the past.
Humans have eaten them, so you'll hear stories about,
you know, them being on on the menu.
But the noise isn't the only nuisance about the cicadas.
It's also what they leave behind,
too. They'll split down the back and then essentially pull
themselves out of their own skin.
So at that stage, what will come out of that
exoskeletons and these get left behind.
And while Steve Spencer says he'll just deal with it,
go about my day, I'm not going to try to
hurt any.
They're just going to do their thing and,
you know, just kind of roll with it.
Santos has another plan. I'm going to stay inside.
All day, all day.
If you're concerned about cicadas,
don't worry, Zetler says they're only going to be sticking
around for a few weeks.
Reporting from Savannah Tia Maggio,
WJCL 22 News.
Oh, thanks goodness for that.
Now that my skin is crawling,
thanks so much to you.
For more information on this upcoming cicada season,
visit ourwebsite@wjcl.com.